Two Species of Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera) New to China, and Description of the Pupal Morphology of the Genera Corythoxestis and Eumetriochroa
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Zootaxa 2892: 25–32 (2011) ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2011 · Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) Two species of Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera) new to China, and description of the pupal morphology of the genera Corythoxestis and Eumetriochroa SHIGEKI KOBAYASHI1, 2, GUO-HUA HUANG3 & TOSHIYA HIROWATARI2 1Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 2Entomological laboratory, Graduate School of life & Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan. E-mail: [email protected] 3Institute of Entomology, College of Bio-safety Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, Hunan, China Abstract The subfamily Oecophyllembiinae (Gracillaridae) is reported from China for the first time. Two species, Corythoxestis sunosei (Kumata, 1998) (host plant: Mussaenda esquirolii H. Lév. Rubiaceae) and Eumetriochroa hederae Kumata, 1998 (host plant: Hedera nepalensis var. sinensis (Tobl.) Rehd., Araliaceae), are recorded from new host plants from Hunan, China. Pupae of the genera Corythoxestis and Eumetriochroa are described for the first time. We found three diagnostic differences from other genera of Oecophyllembiinae and Phyllocnistis. Corythoxestis sunosei has a unique frontal process flanked by two long processes with a pair of setae, and both C. sunosei and E. hederae have a cremaster with two pairs of caudal processes. Key words: Hedera nepalensis, Mussaenda esquirolii, leaf miner, Oecophyllembiinae Introduction Adult Oecophyllembiinae are some of the smallest in size of the leaf-mining gracillariid subfamilies, with a wing expanse of only 5–10 mm. This subfamily is characteristic in having the veins Rs and M1 in the hindwing long- stalked, and the larval thoracic spiracles opening on the mesothorax instead of the prothorax (Kumata 1998). The leaf mines of Oecophyllembiinae species are very similar to each other as well as to those of Phyllocnistis in pos- sessing the following habits: the larvae form long, serpentine, sinuous, subepidermal mines, and the last instar larva pupates inside an ellipsoidal pupal chamber within the end of the mine (Kumata 1998). Six genera and 24 species are known globally in the subfamily. Nearly 10 plant families have been reported as hosts (De Prins & De Prins 2005, 2010). Later authors (Vári et al. 2002) treated Oecophyllembiinae as a synonym of Phyllocnistinae. De Prins & De Prins (2005, 2010) recognized seven genera in Phyllocnistinae: Angelabella Vargas & Parra, 2005, Corythox- estis Meyrick, 1921, Eumetriochroa Kumata, 1998, Guttigera Diakonoff, 1955, Metriochroa Busck, 1900, Phyl- locnistis Zeller, 1848, and Prophyllocnistis Davis, 1994. Because it still remains largely uncertain whether these groups are monophyletic, we followed Kumata (1998) in placing six genera in Oecophyllembiinae and Phyllocnis- tis as the sole member of Phyllocnistinae. Recently several authors noted that pupal morphology of leaf mining moths provides the most informative characters for distinguishing species (Tischeriidae: Patočka 1989; Phyllonorycter (Gracillaridae): Fujihara et al. 2001; Phyllocnistis (Gracillaridae): Kawahara et al. 2009). In China, five Phyllocnistis species have been recorded: P. citrella Stainton, 1856; P. saligna (Zeller, 1839); P. wampilla Liu & Zeng, 1985; P breynilla Liu & Zeng, 1989; and P. embeliella Liu & Zeng, 1989 (Liu & Zeng 1985, 1989). However, the subfamily Oecophyllembiinae was previously unreported. In this paper, two Oecophyl- lembiinae species are recorded for the first time from Hunan, China. Accepted by J-F. Landry: 3 May 2011; published: 26 May 2011 25.